NBA announces December awards: Alexander and Brunson named Players of the Month, two Thunder players honored

On January 3rd Beijing time, the NBA officially announced the monthly awards for December. Thunder’s Alexander and Knicks’ Brunson were named Players of the Month, Thunder’s Homgren and Pistons’ Stewart received Defensive Player of the Month, Mavericks’ Flag and Hornets’ Knupel were selected as Rookies of the Month, and Spurs’ Mitch Johnson along with Celtics’ Mazzulla earned Coaches of the Month honors.

Players of the Month: Alexander and Brunson

Both are All-Star caliber point guards and MVP contenders, honored as the NBA’s Players of the Month for December. Brunson of the Knicks took the Eastern Conference award, while Alexander from the Thunder secured the Western Conference title.

Brunson was named Player of the Week twice in December and led the Knicks to the NBA Cup championship. Over 13 regular season games in December, he averaged 30.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds, shooting 47.5% from the field, 40.5% from three, and 82.6% from the free-throw line, guiding the team to an impressive 10-3 record.

It should be noted that these statistics do not include the NBA Cup Finals (which are excluded from regular season stats), but Brunson also shined in the finals, scoring 25 points and dishing out 8 assists to help the Knicks defeat the Spurs for the title.

Meanwhile, Alexander maintained his strong form across 12 December games, strengthening his case for back-to-back regular season MVP honors. He averaged 31.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals, with shooting percentages of 59.4% from the field, 43.6% from three, and 88.2% from the free-throw line, showcasing outstanding performance.

Currently, Alexander ranks second in the league scoring leaderboard with an average of 32.1 points per game. The Thunder finished December with a 9-4 record, holding a league-best 29-5 overall standing.

This is Brunson’s third career Player of the Month award, while Alexander has now earned this honor five times.

The nominees are as follows —

West: Nuggets’ Jokic, Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Rockets’ Kevin Durant, Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox, Jazz’s KJ George, Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg, Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Timberwolves’ Edwards and Randle, Lakers’ Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.

East: Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, Raptors’ Brandon Ingram, Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, Nets’ Mikal Bridges, Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns.

Defensive Players of the Month: Homgren and Stewart

Thunder players have won the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month award for two consecutive months. After guard Carson Wallace earned the honor for October/November, big man Homgren claimed it for December thanks to his excellent performances.

The Thunder started December with a 20-1 record but showed more human flaws in recent weeks, finishing the month with 9 wins and 4 losses in 13 games. Despite this, the team ranked first in the West with a defensive efficiency of 106.2, with Homgren serving as the defensive anchor and rim protector.

In December, Homgren averaged 2.0 blocks per game, ranking second in the West, and 8.5 shot contests per game, placing seventh among Western players. When he was on the floor, the Thunder allowed only 101.7 points per 100 possessions on defense, but this number rose to 107.6 when he sat, a difference of nearly 6 points.

In the East, the Defensive Player of the Month award was a surprise, going to Pistons’ big man Stewart. He played 13 games in December, coming off the bench in 12 of them, averaging just 23.0 minutes per game.

Despite limited minutes, Stewart averaged 2.2 blocks and 9.4 shot contests per game, ranking second in the East in both categories. His strong defense helped the Pistons achieve a 9-4 record in December, ranking third in the league with a defensive efficiency of 109.8. When Stewart was on the court, the Pistons' defensive efficiency was 104.5, but it dropped to 112.2 when he was off the floor.

The nominees are as follows —

West: Clippers’ Chris Dunn, Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, Warriors’ Draymond Green, Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr.

East: Knicks’ OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley, Celtics’ Derrick White.

Rookies of the Month: Flag and Knupel

Former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knupel were named Western and Eastern Rookies of the Month for the second consecutive month.

As this year’s top draft pick, Flagg played 13 games for the Mavericks in December, averaging 35.5 minutes, 23.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 51.6% from the field and 80.8% from the free-throw line.

Although the Mavericks have yet to show playoff-level competitiveness—posting a 6-7 record in December—Flagg’s performance clearly explains why he was the consensus top prospect in the 2025 draft and is regarded as one of the best rookies of the past decade. He is currently the youngest player in the NBA, having just turned 19 on December 21.

While Flagg is the leading favorite for Rookie of the Year, this is not due to Knupel underperforming. The Hornets sharpshooter maintained his hot start to the season without slowing down, playing 12 games in December and averaging 20.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, with shooting splits of 50.0% from the field, 46.2% from three, and 90.3% from the free-throw line, delivering an outstanding display.

So far this season, Knupel ranks third in three-pointers made behind only Donovan Mitchell and Stephen Curry. He averaged 4.0 made threes per game in December and has accumulated 117 total threes this season.

The nominees are as follows —

West: Grizzlies’ Kyle Anderson, Spurs’ Dylan Harper, Mavericks’ Ryan Neuhard, Pelicans’ Derrick Quinn, Kings’ Maxim Reinhold.

East: Nets’ Yegor Demin, 76ers’ VJ Echikum, Wizards’ Trey Johnson.

Coaches of the Month: Johnson and Mazzulla

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December, while the Eastern Conference award went to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Johnson led the Spurs to an 11-3 record in December. Notably, despite key players Victor Wembanyama and Stephen Kasell missing multiple games due to injury, the Spurs had an impressive month, including three victories over the defending champion Thunder.

In addition to having the best December record in the league, the Spurs ranked fifth in offensive efficiency (118.9) and sixth in defensive efficiency (112.0). These achievements helped Johnson surpass nominees such as Nuggets’ David Adelman, Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, and Timberwolves’ Chris Finch to claim Coach of the Month honors.

Meanwhile, Mazzulla’s Celtics began December ranked eighth in the East but climbed to third by finishing the month with a strong 9-3 record.

Even without perennial All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, the Celtics posted the league’s best offensive efficiency (124.3) and second-best net rating (+11.0) in December, beating strong teams like the Knicks, Lakers, and Raptors (twice).

Other Eastern Conference coach nominees include Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff, Knicks’ Mike Brown, and Nets’ Hoddy Fernandez.